by Ian Marshall, Editor

Once again Asian excellence prevailed on the international scene.

Men’s Singles

…………Masataka Morizono, the no.4 seed, beat Austria’s Robert Gardos, the no.3 seed (11-6, 12-10, 11-2, 11-9) to win his first ever men’s singles on either the ITTF World Tour or at an ITTF Challenge Series tournament.

…………It was the third time that Robert Gardos has been the runner up at an ITTF Challenge Series tournament; in 2018 he was the silver medallist in Spain, just over one month ago in Nigeria.

…………At the semi-final stage Masataka Morizono beat Argentina’s Horacio Cifuentes, the no.11 seed (11-9, 11-6, 11-7, 11-7); Robert Gardos ended the progress of Brazilian qualifier, Vitor Ishiy (11-8, 11-6, 11-5, 11-4).

Women’s Singles

…………Hina Hayata, the no.3 seed, accounted for colleague Honoka Hashmoto, the no.2 seed, to arrest the title (5-11, 11-5, 11-9, 9-11, 11-5, 11-6).

…………Success for Hina Hayata meant that at a Challenge Series tournaments, she won for the fourth time this year.

…………In the penultimate round, Hina Hayata beat Puerto Rico’s Adriana Diaz, the top seed (11-5, 11-3, 6-11, 11-3, 11-5); Honoka Hashimoto ousted Slovaka’s Barbora Balazova, the no.4 seed (11-9, 11-9, 11-8, 12-10)

Men’s Doubles

…………Masataka Morizono and Lubomir Pistej, the top seeds, beat Romania’s Cristian Pletea and Hunor Szocs, the no.7 seeds (11-7, 11-4, 3-11, 11-3) at the final hurdle; it was the first time they had appeared as a partnership at an open international tournament.

Women’s Doubles

…………A debut as a pairing, Honoko Hashimoto and Maki Shiomi, the top seeds, beat Puerto Rico’s Adriana Diaz and Melanie Diaz, the no.2 seeds (11-7, 11-8, 9-11, 11-6) to claim the top prize.